Weft end holding devices



c ALIX. ETAL 2,855,960

WEFT END HOLDING DEVICES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sepia; 2, 1953 INVENTOK ELMER' C. ALIX HARRY A. WILSON BY w Oct. 14, 1958 wEFT END HOLDING DEVICES v E I Filed Sept. 2; 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 I N MY E mm w N Tum. mu m map 1 c mR m J w Unite WEFT END HOLDING DEVICES Application September 2, 1953, Serial No. 378,054 3 Claims. c1. 139-257 This invention relates to improvements in a device for holding the weft ends of reserve bobbins in weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide means for holding the weft ends taut without subjecting them to sufiicient strain to break them.

The reserve bobbins in Weft replenishing looms are held in a plurality of stacks from which a number of weft ends extend. These weft ends are attached manually to some sort of projection or so-called thread holder. As the bobbins descend these ends are likely to become slack or as the bobbins await transfer it has been found they tend to rotate on their axes due to vibration of the loom, resulting in slackening of certain weft ends while others are held taut. These slack ends are likely to fall into the path of the lay of the loom and become broken so that the shuttle will not be threaded at the time of transfer. It is an important object of the present invention, therefore, to make use of gearlike tensioning means having travelling surfaces which have yielding frictional engagement with the weft ends extending from the reserve bobbins whereby said ends may be drawn and held taut during the operation of the loom. The drawing action is such that while frictionally holding certain weft ends taut other weft ends that might become loosened, either due to the descent of the bobbins or to the rotation thereof during the operation of the loom, may be selectively drawn taut. The gearlike tensioning means are so arranged as to prevent reverse movement of the travelling surfaces thereof which might otherwise permit all of the ends to loosen.

It is another object to provide a pair of smooth surfaced gearlike tensioning members loosely meshing and yieldingly engaging each other, with one arranged to be intermittently driven by the other during the operation of the lay of the loom, so that the weft ends lying between said tensioning members during the rotation thereof will be drawn taut and will be frictionally retained taut while certain other weft ends, which might become loose or slack during the descent of the bobbins or from rotation thereof, may also be drawn taut, said frictional engagement of the gearlike tensioning members being such, that while the loose ends are being drawn taut, the gearlike members will have a slippage relative to the taut weft ends thereby obviating the danger of breakage of said ends.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front view with a portion of a loom showing the manner of applying my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a face view of a device embodying the invention showing the relation of the gearlike tensioning members;

Patent 6 ice Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken as on line 33 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a view of the reverse side of the structure shown in Fig. 2 with the cover removed to show the mechanism on the inside of the casing;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 of a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 77 of Fig. 6 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a view generally similar to Figs. 4 and 6 of a further modification; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken as on line 9-9 of Fig. 8 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views, in Fig. 1 there is shown a loom frame 10 and a magazine 11 supplied with reserve bobbins 12 from which extend the weft ends 13. To the magazine 11 there is attached an arm 14 having a device 15 embodying the invention secured thereto.

The device embodying the invention comprises a plate 17 having a pair of gearlike tensioning members 18 and 19 rotatably mounted thereon by shafts 20 and 21 and surrounded by a shelf 22 carried by the plate and which extends outwardly and overhangs the inner ends of said gearlike tensioning members. On the opposed side of the plate 17 a ratchet wheel 23 is mounted on the shaft 21 and is adapted to be engaged and rotated by a pawl 24 carried by a lever 25 also mounted on the shaft 21 to rotate thereon independently of the ratchet wheel 23. The leverarm 25 has a pin 26 mounted thereon adapted to be engaged by an arm 27 carried by thelay 28 of the loom. The pawl 24 is pivotally mounted at 29 on the lever 25 and has a pin 30 to which one end of a coil spring 31 is attached. The opposed end of the coil spring 31 is attached by a pin 32 to the lever 25. The said coil spring 31 is adapted to resiliently retain the pawl 24 in operative engagement with the ratchet wheel.

The lever 25 is provided with an extension 33 to which one end of a coil spring 34 is attached. The opposed end of the coil spring 34 is attached at 35 to an adjustable screw 36 which extends through an opening in one of a pair of ribs 37 and 38 formed on the opposed ends of the plate 17 and which extend outwardly of the side of the plate opposedto the shelf 22. The screw 36 is provided with a nut 39 whereby it may be adjusted to increase or decrease the tension of the coil spring 34. The coil spring 34 is adapted to normally urge the end of the lever 25 having the pin 26 thereon toward the rib 38. The said rib has secured thereto a cushioning member of rubber or other suitable material 40 against which the lever 25 engages.

A second pawl 41 is pivotally attached at 42 to the plate 17 and is urged into engagement with the ratchet wheel 23 by a spring 43. This second pawl is adapted to hold the ratchet wheel against rotation when the lever 25 is moved by engagement thereof with the lay of the loom in a direction away from the cushioning means 4 where the pull of the spring 34 in returning said lever 25 to its initial position after disengagement thereof by the lay of the loom will cause the pawl 24 to rotate the ratchet wheel an amount equal to the return movement of the lever 25. This causes the gearlike tensioning member 19, during the normal operation of the device, to be intermittently rotated as a result of the forward and rearward movement of the lay of the loom.

The shaft 20 which rotatably supports the gearlike tensioning member 18 is mounted on a second lever 44. The second lever 44 is pivotally attached at 45 to the plate 17. The shaft 20 is attached to the second lever 44 by a nut 46 threadedly connected'with a reduced threaded end formed on the shaft 20. The second lever 44 has an extension 47 on the lower end thereof to which one end 48 of a coil spring 49 is attached. The opposed end 50 of the coil spring is attached to a screw 51 which extends through an opening in the rib 37 and on which an adjustment nut 52 is threaded to increase or decrease the tension of the coil spring 49. The shaft 24 extends through a slot 53 formed in the plate and the gearlike tensioning member 18 carried thereby is caused to yieldingly engage the gearlike tensioning member 19 in response to the pull of the spring 49 and the yielding pressure thereof may be varied by manipulation of the nut 52 to extend or retract the screw.

The second lever 44 has an upper curved edge portion 54 which slidably engages within the groove 55 of a bar 56 secured to the plate 17 by screws or the like 57. A cover 58 having angularly disposed side portions 59 is fitted over the plate and associated mechanism of the device and is secured thereto by screws which extend through openings in the cover and within threaded openings 61 formed in the respective ribs 37 and 38. The lower angled side portion 59 of the cover is cut away at 62 to provide a clearance through which the lever 25 extends. The weft ends 13, as shown in Fig. l, are placed between the gearlike tensioning members 18 and 19 by extending them over the shelf 22 whereby they will be held clear of the inner ends of said gearlike tensioning members. A relatively thin spring plate 60 is positioned behind the gearlike members in frictional engagement with the inner sides of said members to keep the weft ends from slipping off said inner ends and getting wrapped around the shafts to which said gearlike members are attached.

It is pointed out that the said gearlike tensioning members have a very loose yielding fit with each other in response to the tension of the coil spring 49 and as the gearlike tensioning member is intermittently rotated by engagement of the pin 26 with the lay 28 of the loom the gearlike member 19 will be simultaneously rotated and due to the yielding grip of said tensioning members with the weft ends will draw said weft ends taut and if some of said weft ends should become loosened either by the descent of the reserve bobbins in the magazine or by the rotation of said bobbins due to the vibration of the loom, said loose ends will be drawn and yieldingly held taut by said gearlike tensioning members 18 and 19. It is pointed out that these ends which are already taut during the take-up of the loose ends will be prevented from breakage by the tendency of the gcarlike tensioning members to have a slippage relative to said taut weft ends thereby relieving the pulling strain on said ends. By this it is meant that said gearlike tensioning members will only exert a controlled amount of pulling action on said weft ends in response to the tension of the coil spring 4-9 which is adjusted so as to relieve the pulling action of the gearlike tensioning members on the weft ends when they are taut. The gearlike tensioning members are prevented from backing up and permitting said weft ends to loosen as a result thereof by the second pawl 41. This pawl holds the ratchet wheel during the movement of the pawl 24 in response to the movement of the lever 25.

in Fig. 6 there is shown a slight modification wherein the ratchet wheel 23 is intermittently rotated by a pawl 64- pivotally carried by a slide 65 mounted in a slideway 66 carried by the plate 17'. The slide 65 is adapted to be engaged by a cam 67 mounted on the upper end of a shaft 63 carried by a bearing 69 attached to the lower end of the housing for the plate 17 by screws or the like 70. The shaft 63 has an outwardly extending lever arm 71 secured thereto which is adapted to be engaged by the arm 27 on the lay 28 of the loom during the operation of the loom whereby the shaft 63 will be rotated in response to the tilting movement of the lever 71. Rotation of the cam 67 which is in engagement with the slide 65 will cause said slide to move longitudinally of the slideway 66 in the direction indicated by the arrow 72 and to thereby cause the pawl 64 to rotate the ratchet wheel 23. A coil spring '73 i positioned between the end of the slide 65 opposite the cam 67 and the side wall 74 of the housing surrounding the plate 17'. A coil spring '75 which is attached at one end 76 to the lever arm 71 and at its opposed end 77 to the housing surrounding the plate 17 is adapted to cause the lever 71 and cam 67 carried by the shaft 68 to rotate in a direction opposite to the movement imparted thereto by the lay of the loom. A spring press pawl 78 which is pivotally attached at 79 to the plate 17 is in constant engagement with the ratchet wheel 23 to prevent reverse movement thereof and of gearlilte tensioning members similar to the tensioning members 18 and 19 and which are carried by the respective shafts 20' and 21'. The shaft 21 like the shaft 20 in Fig. 4 is carried by a lever 84 pivotally attached at 35 to the plate 17. A coil spring 86 attached at 87 to the plate 17' and at 33 to the end of a screw carried by the lever 84 constantly tensions the lever and the gearlike tensioning member carried thereby toward the other gearlike tensioning member. The screw 80 is provided with a nut 81 by which it may be adjusted to vary the tension of the spring 36. The plate 17 is provided with a slot 89 through which the shaft 21 extends to permit pivotal movement of the lever 84 whereby the yielding pressure of the gearlike tensioning member carried thereby may be varied on the other of said tensioning members. The device of Fig. 6 operates in a manner similar to the device previously described.

In Fig. 8 there is shown a further modification wherein a weight 90 is carried by blade springs 91 and 92 suspended from binding bolts 93 and 94 by means of which the upper ends of the springs are secured to the housing. The lower ends of the springs are attached to the weight 90 by screws or the like 95. The lower side of the weight is provided with a circularly recessed area 96 in which is extended an eccentric circular cam 97 carried by a shaft 98. The shaft 98 is rotatably supported within a bearing 99 secured to the housing by screws or the like 100. The lower end of the shaft 98 has a lever arm 101 secured thereto and which is adapted to be tilted by engagement thereof with the arm 27 on the lay of the loom to rotate the cam and thereby impart sidewise movement to the weight 90. The weight 90 carries a spring pawl 102 which is secured thereto by the screw or the like which secures the blade spring 91 to said weight. The spring pawl 102 engages the ratchet 103 which is in turn mounted on the shaft 104 to which a gearlike tensioning member similar to 18 is secured. As the weight is moved by the cam 97 the spring pawl 102 will impart rotary movement to the ratchet wheel 103 and will in turn rotate the gearlike tensioning member on the shaft 104. A spring pawl 106 pivotally connected at 107 to the plate retains the ratchet against rearward movement by the action of the spring 108 which retains the pawl 106 in engagement with the ratchet wheel. A coil spring 118, attached at one end 119 to the housing and at its opposite end 120 to the lever 101, is adapted to return the lever to its initial position to again be engaged by the lay of the loom.

The gearlike tensioning member on the shaft 104 is in loosely meshed relation with the other gearlike tensioning member carried by the shaft 109 which is in turn mounted on the upper end of a lever 110. The lever 110 is pivoted at 111 to the plate and has a coil spring 112 secured adjacent one end thereof 113 to a screw 117 carried by the lever and at its opposed end to a pin 115 carried by the plate. The screw 117 has a nut 118 thereon and by means of which the screw may be adjusted forwardly or rearwardly to change the tension of the spring 112 and the yielding pressure of the tensioning members on each other. A curved slot 116 is formed in the plate and through which the shaft 109 extends to permit movement of the lever 110 and the gearlike tensioning members into meshed relation with each other. The tension of the spring 112 is controlled to introduce the desired frictional pulling action on the weft ends as previously described.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that we have provided a threaded holder with a pair of travelling surfaces each of which intersects the path of the other to engage and tension weft ends. The tensioners, which may be made in the form of gearlike members are so related that one drives the other and will impart the desired yielding pull on the weft ends to maintain said ends taut as desired.

While it has been described that the device of Figs. 2 through 5 operates through engagement of the lever thereof with a positively moving part of the loom, such as the lay of the loom, it is pointed out that the tension of the spring 34 is so controlled that if the loose weft ends which are severed from the transferred bobbins should become entangled with the weft ends which are being drawn taut from the reserve bobbins in the magazine and should ball up between the gearlike tensioning members and prevent proper operation of the device the tension of the spring 34 will be such as not to return the lever 25 to be engaged by the lay of the loom and will thereby render the device inoperative. The device is again rendered operative by manually removing the balled up weft and by again properly placing the loose weft ends from the reserve bobbins between the tensioning members.

Having thus described our invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and the invention, therefore, is not to be limited to details herein disclosed.

Having described our invention we claim:

1. In a weft end holder for weft replenishing looms, a support, a shaft rotatably connected with said support, gear-like tensioning means mounted on said shaft, a ratchet wheel attached to said shaft, a movable member pivotally mounted on said shaft, and movable independently of the ratchet wheel, said member having a pawl pivoted thereto and embodying means for yieldingly causing it to engage said ratchet wheel, said member having a portion positioned in the path of and positively movable in one direction in response to the engagement thereof with a positively moving part of the loom to impart movement to said member, a spring attached to said member and to an adjustable threaded member carried by a side wall of said support for moving said member in the opposite direction to the positively moving part of the loom to cause said ratchet wheel and said gearlike tensioning means to rotate when said member is moved in said opposite direction, means for adjusting said threaded adjustable member to vary the tension of the spring, a lever member pivotally connected to the support, said lever member having a shaft on the end thereof opposite the pivot, a second gearlike tensioning means on said shaft adapted to have an intermeshing fit with the first gearlike tensioning means, resilient means connected with the lever member and with a second adjustable threaded member carried by the support for causing said second gearlike tensioning means to yieldingly engage said first gearlike tensioning means, means for adjusting said second adjustable threaded member for varying the tension of said resilient means to vary the yielding engagement of said gearlike tensioning means, means secured to said support having a guideway therein and one of said members having a portion slidably fitting within said guideway for positively controlling its direction of movement.

2. In a weft end holder for weft replenishing looms, a support, a shaft rotatably connected with said support, gearlike tensioning means mounted on said shaft, a ratchet wheel attached to said shaft to rotate therewith, a movable member pivotally mounted on said shaft for movement independently of the ratchet wheel, said member having a pawl pivoted thereto and embodying means for yieldingly causing it to engage said ratchet wheel, said member having means for imparting motion thereto and embodying a portion positioned in the path of and positively movable in one direction in response to the engagement thereof with a positively moving part of the loom to impart movement to said member, a spring attached to said member and to a threaded member extending through a wall of said support and having an adjustable nut thereon, said spring being adapted to move said member in the opposite direction the positively moving part to cause said ratchet wheel and said gearlike tensioning means to rotate when said member is moved in said opposite direction, the adjustment of said nut being adapted to vary the tension of said spring, a lever member pivotally connected to the support, said lever member having a shaft on the end thereof opposite the pivot, a second gearlike tensioning means on said shaft adapted to have an intermeshing fit with the first gearlike tensioning means, resilient means connected with the lever member for causing said second gearlike tensioning means to yieldingly engage said first gearlike tensioning means, and means for varying the tension of said resilient means to vary the yielding engagement of said gearlike tensioning means.

3. In a weft end holder for weft replenishing looms, a support, a shaft rotatably connected with said support, gearlike tensioning means mounted on said shaft, a ratchet wheel attached to said shaft, a movable member pivotally mounted on said shaft to move independently of said ratchet wheel, said member having a pawl pivoted thereto and embodying means for yieldingly causing it to engage said ratchet wheel, said member having a portion positioned in the path of and positively movable in one direction in response to the engagement thereof with a positively moving part of the loom to impart movement to said member, a spring attached to said member and to a threaded member extending through a wall of said support for moving said member in the opposite direction to cause said ratchet wheel and said gearlike tensioning means to rotate when said member is moved in said opposite direction, an adjustable nut on said threaded member for varying the tension of said spring, a lever member pivotally connected to the support, said lever member having a shaft on the end thereof opposite the pivot, a second gearlike tensioning means on said shaft adapted to have an intermeshing fit with the first gearlike tensioning means, resilient means connected with the lever member for causing said second gearlike tensioning means to yieldingly engage said first gearlike tensioning means, means for varying the tension of said resilient means to vary the yielding engagement of said gearlike tensioning means, means secured to said support having a guideway therein and one of said members having a portion slidably fitting within said guideway for positively controlling its direction of movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,807,768 Wattie June 2, 1931 2,082,903 Payne June 8, 1937 2,375,156 Whitin May 1, 1945 2,385,242 Whitin Sept. 18, 1945 2,387,302 Santon Oct. 23, 1945 2,390,962 Santon Dec. 11, 1945 

